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Historic Houses & Gardens

West Dorset boasts some of the finest gardens and historic houses in the south of England. Take your pick from the Tudor manor house with Grade I architectural gardens of Athelhampton, the unusual Sub Tropical garden of Abbotsbury or the listed English Heritage garden of Kingston Maurward.

To the north there are not one but two castles in Sherborne, one old castle and one new castle, the 12th Century Forde Abbey or the spectacular valley garden of Mapperton. Not to forget the 17th Century walled garden of the Town Mill at Lyme Regis, the landscaped Rhododendron gardens at Minterne, the superb Tudor castle at Portland, the 17th Century Lulworth Castle and the national collection of water lilies at Bennetts Water Gardens.

Why not follow one of our suggested holiday itineraries and be guided around some of West Dorset's most impressive houses and gardens?